Engine starter



Dec. 15, 1936. w. L. McG'RATH 2,064,332 ENGLNE STARTER Original Filed April 2, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet; I

Dec. 15,- 1936; w. L. MOGRATH ENGINE STARTER Original F'il ed April 2, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Dec. 15, 1936 William L. McGrath, Elmira, N. Y., assignor to Eclipse Machine Company, Elmira, N. Y.,. a corporation of New York Application April 2, 1926, Serial No. 99.232

Renewed January 19, 1935 Claims.

My invention relates to engine starting apparatus for the starting of engines such as internal combustion engines and more particularly but not necessarily airplane engines and the object there- 5 of is to provide a simple, efficient and reliableapparatus characterized by the provision of energy storing means, including a spring which might not alone be capable of startingthe engine but which in conjunction with inertia means,

' lo'suchas a flywheel, is capable of 'delivering the stored energy in a manner and at a rate to accomplish the starting of the engine. With respect to the spring, the energy may be stored therein at any rate, so that slight physical effort is required for the storage ofthe requisite amountof energy in the spring, whereby the starting of large engines such as aviation engines may-be accomplished readily and, easily by any one instead of requiring the great physical exertion required in manually operated starters heretofore employed. If desired, a motor such as an electric motor may be used to wind up the spring and for the same reasons above outlined, this motor may be very small and of light weight,

5 becausethe rate of energy delivery is immaterial. The use of the spring also permits of the storage at any time of the energy requisite for the starting of the engine at any future time. For instance in the case of an aviation engine the 3 energy may be stored in the woundup spring before leaving the ground and be available for instant use in case the engine is stalled when in the air or for use in starting an auxiliary or spare enginein the caseof multi-engined aircraft. In present day practice, with the use of 1 large engines,. stalling of the engine means a forced landing unless means are provided for starting while in the air. The apparatus, as herein shown, is also capable of being operated by separate manual means operating in conjunction with the inertia means, but, such manual means may be dispensed with.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is an elevation of an apparatus embodying my invention such section being taken on an irregular line in order to fully illustrate the manual means in the same section; Fig. 2 a top plan viewof the spring motor portion of the apparatus but on a larger scale than in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 a section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1; Fig, 4 a section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2; Fig. 5 a plan view of the locking plate of the spring motor but shown on a reduced scale as compared with Figs. 1 and 2; and Fi 6 a detail view of one end of a shaft. My apparatus comprises a transmission or drive having an element or driving member adapted to engage a member of the engine to be started and energy storing means including a spring and also, in the complete apparatus herein shown, a manually operated means.- The energy storing means and the manual means may be combined in the same apparatus and may be used separately or conjointly if desired and moreover the manual means may be dispensed with whereupon such apparatus would be operated wholly through the spring means.

The drive or transmission includes the drive proper and reductiomgearing. The drive proper is located within a main casing I which is suitably supported as, by being detachably connected 1; with the crankcase 2 of the engine, a small portion of which is illustrated. Within a bushing 3 in the casing there rotates a driving barrel 4 and a nut in the form of a shell 5 concentrically arranged therewithin and providing a considerable annular spacebetween them'to receive a yieldable drive connection which is here in the form of a friction clutch 6. This clutch is composed of two sets of clutch plates which are splined respectively to the interior of the barrel and ex- 5 terior of the nut. The proper pressure for the plates is provided by a series of springs I located in such annular space and such pressure is regulated by the adjustable nut 8 screwing onto the outer end of the nut or shell. The thrust of these springs tends to force the nut outwardly whereby a ring 9 clamps the plates together by forcing them against the ring III which bears against an annular internal iiangell within the barrel.

The nut 5 is provided with internal long lead threads on which isthreaded a screw shaft ll which constitutes the main portion of the driving member whose other principal portion is a clutch member ll adapted to engage a member of theengine to be started such as the corresponding clutch niember l5 forming a part of or secured to a rotatable part of the engine such as the crank shaft l6 thereof. The clutch member i4 is in the form of a disk having clutch jaws H adapted to engage complementary clutch jaws l8 on the clutch member I5, and provided with a hub or sleeve portion I! which has a bearing fit within the nut 5 and which has internal longitudinal grooves and splines 20 cooperating with corresponding splines and grooves on the outer end portion of the exterior of shaft 13, whereby the clutch member. and shaft l3 have a relative longitudinal movement of limited degree independent of each other. The clutch member It is held in outward position with a yielding pressure in suitable manner as by means of a coil spring 22 which bears at its outer end against the bottom of sleeve I9 and at its inner end against the bottom of a socket formed in' the outer end of the shaft I3. The outward movement of clutch member I4 is limited by. the head of a rod 23 which passes centrally through the driving member parts and centrally through the main sup porting shaft 24 of the reduction gearing. This rod is a manually operated rod terminating in a handle 25 at a point exterior of the apparatus and in the present instance being located adjacent the exterior of the casing of the manually operated means. In the present instance, for

assembly purposes, this rod is made in two sections screwing together intermediate its length and provided at the point of juncture with a flange 26 bearing against the inner end of shaft I3. The inner end of this shaft is provided with two nuts 21, the one nearest such end being a lock nut and the other providing an abutment for the outward movement of the screw shaft against the internal shoulder 28 within the nut 5.

Next referring to the reduction gearing the same is contained within the main casing l and cover plate I by which-such gearing is supported and in which it has its bearings. A main stationary internal gear 29 is secured within casing I and with the same there meshes a series of three planetary gears 3| which are journaled be-'- which is mounted to rotate freely upon a shaft 46 tween two parallel plates 32 and 33, the inner plate 33 of which is connected with the barrel 4 in suitable manner as by being splined thereto at 36. This plate 33 has a hub-provided with longitudinal grooves adapted to receive oppositely extending projections or pins 38 at the left-hand end of shaft 24 (Fig. 1) whereby, such shaft and plate are detachably connected and the shaft is adapted to drive the plate and its attached gearing. e

The pinions 9| mesh with a central pinion 39 which as' shown and by preference is formed as a part of the hub of a gear 4| mounted to rotate freely upon the shaft 24. This gear 4| meshes with a pinion 43 which as shown and by preference is formed upon the hub of a bevel gear 45 having its ends bearing in the plate I and in the upward extension I of the main casing.

The right-hand end Fig. 1 of the shaft 24 isjournaled in bearings 48 in plate I and extends therethrough and to suohprojecting end a bevel pinion 49 is secured. This pinion forms a part of the manual means and extends into a small casing 58 detachably secured in suitable manner to plate I. In addition to this pinion 49 such manual means consists of a cranking shaft 52 extending extraneous of casing 58 and thereat provided with suitable means such as pins 63 for engagement with an ordinary hand crank. This shaft 52 is journaled in ball bearings -54 within casing 68 and the same is held in roper position longitudinally by nut 55 and collar 56. The shaft 52 is provided at its inner end with a bevel pinion 51 meshing with the corresponding pinion 49.

Describing the inertia means the same comprises a flywheel and operating connections with the bevel gear 45 and with the spring motor, such inertia means being contained within and supported by a casing 68 which is secured to main casing I in suitable manner as by screws 59. Die flywheel comprises a rim 68 having the predetermined or desired mass or weight, a web 8| and a hub 62. This hub which is journaled in bearings 64 is drivingly secured to a shaft 63 by means of a bolt 62. The shaft 63 has at its lower end a bevel pinion 65 meshing with gear 45. The parts heretofore described in detail do not, standing alone, represent novelties of my present invention, but they are known structures which may be desirably used in combination with hereinafter-described devices in embodying my present invention. v

The upper'surface of the flywheel web is provided with one of the members of a clutch by whichdriving relation is established between the spring means and the starting apparatus, in the present instance specifically between such spring means and the flywheel, and by preference such clutch member is made as a plate 66 secured to the flywheel web and having clutch jaws 68.

The other member 69 of the clutch is carried by the rotatable shaft I8, which shaft has suitable bearings II and 12 in the top plate I3 and bottom plate 'I4 respectively of the casing 15, which is detachably secured by the ring I6 and screws 11 and I8 to. the casing 58. This particular clutch member 69 is splined to a nut I9 which is threaded upon the shaft I8. The clutch member and the nut are held in extended position by a coil spring 88 contained within a retainer cup 8| and a plate 82 secured to the nut.

The energy storing means comprises a drum 83 'mounted to rotate within the casing I and operatively connected with a coil spring or springs 84, two of which by preference and as herein shown are employed. Also, by preference a separating plate or diaphragm 85 is employed between these two springs to prevent interference between the spring coils. The outer ends of these springs are attached in suitable manner to the drum as by means of the buttons 86, 86, preferably at opposite sides of suchdrum. The inner ends of these springs are suitably attached to the shaft I8 by the rivets or buttons 81, 81. The drum has a bottom plate 88 and a detachable cover plate 89 secured to the drum by screws 98.. This cover plate is provided with a" bevel gear ring 9| made separate therefromflas shown) or integral therewith if desired.-

A disk member-92 secured to shaft III in suitable manner as by means of a key 93. This member has an upturned flange 94 adapted to receive a latch member 95 which is held in either engaged or disengaged position by a spring toggle structure, the engaged position being shown in right-hand dotted lines in Fig. 2 and the disengaged position in the left-hand dotted lines. The desired toggle action is secured by means of a toggle-including a spring 96 with a pivot point 91 and slip end 98 on latch member 95. The latch member is secured to a stud 99 which is mounted to rotate in a bearing in a hole in the cover plate 13' and to the outer end of this stud there is secured a manually operated arm I88 adapted to be moved by hand from the engaged position shown in full lines to the disengaged position shown in the dotted lines in Fig. 2. The latch member is adapted to engage a notch or notches MI in the flange 94 of. the disk member 92 to thereby hold the springs in wound up condition. r

The cover plate 13 is provided with bearing lugs I82 and I83 for a rotatable shaft I84 to which is secured a bevel pinion I85 adapted to mesh with the ring gear 9|. Likewise carried by shaft I84, and in this'instance integral with it, is a ratchet wheel I86 with which engages a ingly shaped opening at the end of a lever or hand crank I09.

Describing a cycle of operation and starting with the parts as illustrated in Fig. 1 and with the arm or lever I in the position shown in full lines in Fig. 2, the rotation of the shaft 10 in a clockwise direction, Fig. 2, will now be prevented and also the inner ends of the springs 84 will be held against move nt. By means of the crank handle I09, the s aft I04 is now rotated in the direction permitted by the ratchet wheel, and thereby the bevel gear I05, ring gear 9| cover 89 and spring drum 03 will be rotated, and inasmuch as the outer ends of the springs 84 are connected to the drum, these springs will be wound up so that energy will be stored therein. When the springs are fully wound, or at any intermediate point of their winding, any unwinding is prevented through the action of the ratchet I06 and its pawl I0'I.-

If it is desired at any time subsequent to the winding up of these springs to set the flywheel of the starter in rotation for the purpose of utilizing the energy stored in the springs in making an engine start, all that is necessaryto do is to move the arm I00 from the full line position to the dotted line position which causes the latch member 95 to be disengaged from" one of the notches IN, the latch being held in disengaged position by the action of the toggle spring 96. The shaft 10 is now free to rotate and the stored energy in the wound up springs 84 causes it to rotate at a speed suflicient to result in the automatic connection of such shaft with the flywheel inasmuch as, when such shaft is rotated, the screw thread action between it and the nut 19 will move such nut longitudinally so'asto bring the clutch member 69 into operative engagement with the clutch member 66. The re.-

duction gearing and the drive proper including the driving member or screw shaft I3 will be rotated.

When the shaft I0 ceases to be a driver, its

- operative connection with the flywheel becomes d'isestablished by the automatically operatin clutch. At that time, or even before or after, the operator will thrust the rod 23 to the left,

Fig. 1, and thereby cause the driving member to become engaged with the engine member by such manual action aided by the-screw thread action between the nut member and the screw shaft I3. When the engine operates under its own power, the driving member will be automatically disengaged from the engine member by the said screw thread action.

Describing the operating connections between the shaft and the driving member of the engine starter, when the arm I00 is released-the automatic clutch will cause engagement between .the shaft I0 and the flywheel as above stated.

able electric motor whose armature shaft or driving spindle therefrom may be applied to the shaft I04 for the purpose of rotating it. Fig. 6, I have shown such shaft I04 provided at its outer end with a slot H0 adapted to receive a driving tongue on the armature shaft or a spindle of an electric motor.

By combining such energy storing means with an inertia device, such as a flywheel, I am able to obtain practical advantages and results inasmuch as the spring deivers its energy to the heel in a period of time whose length is no material in so far as the starting of the engine is concerned, but which is material in so far as the eflicient delivery of its stored energy is concerned. This combination of spring and inertia means permits of the winding up of the spring 'or springs at any time thus storing the energy ready for its release in the speeding of the flywheel for the starting of the engine either in emergency, such as a forced landing of an airplane, or in anycase for the next required start of the engine and furthermore the same permits of the use of the non-electric type of inertia starter even though it is required that the pilot be able to start his engine from the cockpit.

I claim:

1. An engine starting apparatus including a drive having a driving member adapted to engage a member of the engine'to be started and actuating means therefor, an inertia. means operatively connected with the actuating means, and energy storing means for operating such inertia means comprising a rotatable shaft operatively conthe rotation of said shaft until it is desired tov utilize the energy of the spring to operate the inertia means and crank the engine.

2. An engine starting apparatus including a drive having a driving member adapted to engage a member of the engine to be started and actuating means therefor, an inertia means operatively connected with the actuating means, and energy storing means for operating such inertia means comprising a rotatable shaft operatively connectible with said inertia means, a spring drum mounted to rotate freely on said shaft, a coiled. spring contained within the drum and connected with the shaft and drum respectively, means formtating the drum to wind the spring, a casing for said inertia means, a second casing which encloses said drum and is connected with the first mentioned casing-and on which are mounted said means for rotating the drum, and means carried by said second casing for'restraining the rotation of said shaft until it is desired to'utilize the energy of the spring to operate the inertia means and crank the engine. I

3. An engine starting apparatus including a drive having a driving member adapted to engage a member of the engine to .be started and actuatingmeans therefor, an inertia means operatively connected with the actuating means, and energy storing means for operating such inertia means comprising a rotatable shaft operatively connectible with said inertia means, a spring drum mounted to rotate freely on said shaft, a

coiled spring contained within the drum and connected with the shaft and drum respectively, means for rotating the drum to wind the spring, a casing for said inertia means, a secondcasing which encloses said drumand is connected with the first mentioned casing, and a latch carried by said second casing and cooperating with the shaft for restraining the rotation of said shaft until it is desired to utilize the energy of the spring to operate the inertia means and crank the engine.

4. An engine starting apparatus including a drive having a driving member adapted to engage a member of the engine to'be started and operating means therefor, an inertia means connected with the operating means, an energy storing means for actuating such inertia means including a spring anchorage mounted to rotate independently of said inertia means, a

coiled spring connected with the anchorage,

means whereby the anchorage may be rotated to storing means for actuating such inertia means including a coiled spring, means to wind the spring, and means for imparting rotation to said inertia means when it is desired to utilize the energy of the woundspring to operate the inertia means and crank the engine.

WILLIAM L. MCGRATH. 

